Holistic Therapy in Berkeley
How Holistic Therapy Works
The notion of holistic therapy assumes that an individual’s self-perception (or their consciousness) is not to be found in any one particular area but is an integration of the entire person, including their physical body, mind (as a function of the brain), feelings or emotions (as a function of the interaction between the brain [central nervous system] and the physical body), and spirit (the higher part of oneself that connects one to others and to an understanding of meaning). Holistic therapy attempts to have the individual gain awareness of these connections between the mind, body, and spirit using a number of different techniques. The goal is to help individuals to develop a much deeper understanding of themselves at all levels, which can often lead to improved self-esteem and self-awareness.
Many holistic psychotherapists attempt to use the individual’s symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, or even substance abuse, as a method to foster higher awareness in the individual. Actually, this is not unlike the spiritual nature of many of the 12-Step groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous. A concept that has found its way into all sorts of psychotherapy, including holistic therapy, is a concept of mindfulness or attempting to gain full awareness of oneself in the moment. Holistic therapists attempt to get individuals in treatment to accept themselves in the moment as they are, where they are, and understand themselves on a deeper level. Once individuals have achieved acceptance of themselves, they can better release issues that are causing them distress. Relaxation, visual imagery, and other bodywork techniques are often used to assist individuals in these issues.
The Holistic Therapy Approach
The goal of a holistic approach is to balance all the different aspects of the person, so the entire person is addressed in treatment and not just one aspect of the person. For instance, in the traditional Western medical approach, someone with arthritis would be treated by a specialist who would address their arthritis with medicines and other interventions. Using holistic medicine, instead of just treating someone’s arthritis, the person’s emotional aspects, attitudes and beliefs (mental), relationships and how they are affected by their illness, and spiritual aspects (deeper rooted meanings about one’s existence and future) would all be addressed in the treatment process.
Holistic treatments tend to downplay traditional pharmaceutical approaches to treatment, and in many cases, holistic treatment providers have rather strong criticisms of them. Instead, other types of approaches, such as acupuncture, massage, natural therapy, etc., are preferred; however, most of these treatments do not have solid empirical evidence to support their use for a number of different diseases or medical conditions. For example, a technique often suggested as a treatment in holistic medicine is acupuncture. A number of empirical research studies, such a review reported in the March 2009 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, have indicated that it often does not matter where the acupuncture needles are placed; individuals report feeling better even if needles are not placed according to the practice of acupuncture. This indicates that acupuncture may simply be capitalizing on a placebo effect.
On the other hand, there are advantages to the overall attitude that an individual should be treated across many different domains of functioning as opposed to just having one issue addressed, and this notion may have some relevance in psychotherapy. Many established forms of psychotherapy can realize enhanced benefits when individuals in therapy also incorporate exercise programs, meditation, yoga, and even spirituality in them.
Our therapists at Life by Design Therapy are ready to support your therapy process!
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